December 8th – 12th

TURKEY – A high-level delegation from the European Union has arrived in Turkey to press Turkish officials to do more to help identify foreign fighters who travel to Syria to join the terrorist Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) via Turkey, as well as not to undermine the EU sanctions against Russia. (ANSAmed)

SYRIA – Syria asked the United Nations Security Council to impose sanctions on neighboring Israel, a day after accusing the Jewish state of bombing areas near Damascus international airport and in the town of Dimas, near the border with Lebanon. (Reuters)

LIBYA – The United Nations will widen a new round of talks aimed at ending Libya’s escalating political crisis by including a rival assembly challenging the recognized government, its special envoy said. (Reuters)

Tuesday, 9th December 2014

KOSOVO – The new government of Kosovo, result of a coalition between the LDK and the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), received parliamentary approval. The vote passed with 73 in favor, 38 against and 2 abstentions. (ANSAmed)

IRAN – The foreign ministers of Iran, Syria and Iraq met in Tehran, saying that they would carry on working together to battle radical Sunni Muslim militants, Syrian and Iranian state media reported. (Reuters)

QATAR – Qatar’s emir urged Gulf Arab leaders to shake off a damaging rift over Islamist politics and work together to tackle common threats across the region. (Reuters)

Wednesday, 10th December 2014

LIBYA – Libya’s recognized government will continue a military campaign to claim back the capital Tripoli, Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni said. (Reuters)

PALESTINE – Palestinian minister died on Wednesday shortly after an Israeli border police officer shoved and grabbed him by the throat during a protest in the West Bank, an incident Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas described as barbaric. (Reuters)

UNITED STATES – Jihadists reacted to the release of the long-awaited US Senate report on the use of torture by the CIA, by taking to social media to call on Muslims to “rise up” in retaliation. The 480-page report, which has been bitterly contested by both the CIA and former Bush administration officials, was published despite fears that graphic new details of interrogations could provoke a backlash against US embassies and personnel around the world. (The Guardian)

Thursday, 11th December 2014

LIBYA – Libyan Prime Minister Abdullah Al-Thinni told Al-Arabiya on Thursday that the international community was to blame for the current situation in Libya, having abandoned the country after ousting Muammar Gaddafi. (ANSAmed)

GREECE – Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras accused leftist Syriza party on Wednesday of provoking “terror” among investors and insisted that Greeks do not want early elections. (ANSAmed)

EGYPT – The Egyptian government has approved a new electoral law ahead of parliamentary elections, the final phase of the ‘post-Morsi’ transition roadmap. The elections had initially been scheduled for this autumn but were postponed until spring. The new People’s Assembly will have 567 seats, including 420 allocated to independent candidates and 120 to party lists. The president will have the right to appoint 5% of MPs (27). Minority quotas include 24 seats for Christians, 8 for expatriates, 8 for the disabled and 21 for women. (ANSAmed)

ITALY – Demonstrators clashed with police in Milan and Turin as two Italian unions held a nationwide strike, the latest in a series of protests against labor reforms that would make it easier for firms to lay off workers. (Reuters)

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